Upgrade Your Picnic Hot Dogs with Stellar Toppings and Sides

Stray Dogs give Fourth of July outdoor eats some major pop.

Peter Cho and Johnny Leach celebrate Fourth of July cooking year-round. The New York fine dining chefs both recently moved to Portland, then launched a roving pop-up, Stray Dogs, with upper-crust wieners, trashy-delicious sides, and nostalgic ice cream scoops ... in the dead of winter. Their cheeky dinners have helped spark a new hot dog craze in Portland, with sellout crowds wolfing down fancy chile con corn dogs, “buttered popcorn” ice cream, and thin curls of fried onion covered in dehydrated malt vinegar and ranch dust (affectionately called “Fun-Yums”).

We tapped these masters of Independence Day cuisine for three easy ways to add explosive flavor to your holiday picnic. Try a singularly delicious potato salad slicked with Japanese mayo and peppered with seaweed confetti, make a spicy curry jam that adds zing to everyday ballpark franks, and toast up ice cream toppers that can turn any old scoop into summertime heaven.

MAKE IT!

Nori Potato Salad(Serves 8–10)

3 lbs baby red potatoes

½ cup diced celery

¼ cup finely diced red onion

¾ cup and 2 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise*

1 tsp togarashi*

2 tsp hot mustard powder

2 tsp toasted sesame seeds

½ cup nori cut into thin strips

1 tsp sugar

1 tsp salt

SIMMER: Place potatoes in a pot with heavily salted cold water, bring to a simmer, and cook for 15 minutes, or until tender. Let cool completely.

TOSS: Quarter potatoes, toss with remaining ingredients, and let sit in the refrigerator for at least three hours or overnight before serving.

*Kewpie, a wildly popular brand of Japanese mayo, and seven-spice chile blend togarashi are available at Asian supermarkets like Uwajimaya and Fubonn.